24 Hours with Bertrand Guyon

A day in the life of Schiaparelli’s Design Director.

By Amy Yasmine

Bertrand Guyon

7AM… My phone wakes me up. The first thing I do is check my phone between messages and Instagram. Then, breakfast with toasted rye bread, black coffee, thin slices of of bresaola, goat’s cheese, and goat’s milk yogurt. I dress in the morning as quickly as possible. It has to be quick, so as not to lose precious time. I end up wearing more or less the same things; it is my way of feeling good. With the launch of our ready-to-wear last month, I have a selection of T-shirts, sweatshirts, and raincoats allowing me to wear Schiaparelli from now on. My favourites are the multicoloured cashmere sweater and the red embroidered sweatshirt with May Ray art.

8.20AM… I am lucky enough to be able to walk to the office. It takes me about 10 minutes. But I never leave home without a lucky charm in my pocket. Last week, on my way to the airport to open our first pop-up store in New York’s Bergdorf Goosman, I realised I had left it behind when the taxi was almost at the airport. We had to drive back home to retrieve it, and then go back to the airport.

8.30AM…I get to the office. I am generally the first one to arrive the studio. First thing I do is prepare a big pot of black tea from Vietnam. It gets me started. It’s something I have throughout the day, which means I drink probably about four litres of tea every day. I love this quiet moment before everyone gets to the office, and before meetings and fittings start. I get the music on. At the moment, my playlist revolves around a lot of Jonathan Bree, together with my favourites Kate Bush and David Bowie. But it goes in cycles. Then I start sketching or complete anything else I need to do before meeting the team.

10AM… Fittings start with studio and atelier teams so that the next collection shapes up. We have started seeing the toiles for the next haute couture collection. Being with the teams and seeing the sketches transform into 3-D makes me so appreciative of my job. On weekends, if I am in Paris, I love to go to the flea markets and find little treasures. My home and my office are full of various finds. I sometimes get obsessed with a then, but then something else will draw my attention and I move on. I also go to art galleries and bookstores. If I am in my house in Spain next to Barcelona, I enjoy being by the sea and living life in the south. There, I can read, relax, and see things with another perspective than when I’m in Paris.

1.30PM…I have lunch in my office to have a break. It’s usually a plate of pasta or rice, but always cooked in many different ways. Then, within an hour, I’d continue with fittings and meet with various teams to select embroideries, fabrics, or embellishments for different collections. At the moment, I’m looking at different types of leather and materials to go with our Secret bag.

4PM… I would meet with ateliers such as Lésage to discuss, exchange, and decide the embroideries that will be part of the next collection. Lésage and Schiaparelli have such a long history together, dating back to the ’20s.

6PM… Other times, I will meet with an actress to discuss her look for her next event. Recently, I’ve been meeting actress Tilda Swinton as we’ve had the honour and pleasure of dressing her; she wore a Haute Couture Autumn/Winter ’18 bias-cut leopard-print dress to the 75th Venice Film Festival, and then a suit, also from the collection to the Suspiria premier in Hollywood. I always feel such pure joy and pleasure to share these intimate moments together.

8PM…I leave the office and walk back home. Dinners are usually spent back home as well, where I can relax by being alone or with a few friends. I’m not the kind of person who loves being in large groups. I prefer things to remain intimate. Sometimes, we’d watch some films and just enjoy being in each other’s company.

12AM… I go to bed around midnight, and always check Instagram before switching off. Still, I find myself surfing the internet; always doing personal research, or research for Schiaparelli.